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Archive for the ‘Bible’ Category

Crossway has just launched the website for the new ESV Study Bible, the Bible is set to be released in October of 2008. Check it out here.

Features of this new edition include:

25,000 plus notes

Over 40 color illustrations

Over 200 full color maps

200 plus maps

80,000 cross-references

Over 100 articles and introductions

More importantly, in my opinion, is the high quality with which Crossway has planned into the production.

All editions will have a Smythe sewn binding

Printed on high-opacity, high-quality paper. This means no bleed through!

The text is in single column, 9pt. The notes are double column 7.25pt

Full color maps and feature articles throughout.

The ESV Study Bible will be available in 8 editions. Hardcover, two TruTone, two bonded leather, two genuine leather and a calfskin. Thats right, a calfskin edition right out of the starting gates!

Although I recommend the use of a study Bible, I haven’t really used mine as of late(Reformation Study Bible, 1599 Geneva Bible.) From a cursory view of this edition, I look forward to owning one and making good use of it.

As the release date for the Personal Reference ESV comes quick upon us, there is news regarding the genuine leather edition. Early last week I received email confirmation that the Personal Size Reference genuine leather edition will have a sewn binding! That is good news not just for those of us that will be looking to send it off to be rebound but also for those looking for a high quality Bible at a good price. The genuine leather has a msrp of $44.99 but retailers like Amazon, Monergism Bookstore and WTS Bookstore will be sure to have it discounted prices. Both Monergism and WTS offer ESV’s at %45 off. There was also news that these editions will have higher quality paper.

On another note, the Compact TruTone edition has been reworked into the new Deluxe Compact TruTone edition. It features a slightly larger trim size, larger font size, and most importantly it will have a sewn binding! This will end up being a very durable and long lasting edition. The TruTone has been well received and is very durable and has now been wrapped around a sewn book block.

I think Crossway just hit a home run! Congrats to them for striving to put out quality products.

If you are interested in owning a Bible that is worthy of being called a Bible, then look no further than what is offered by R.L. Allan & Son Publishers of Glasgow, Scotland.

And if you are interested in owning an Allan’s Bible in the ESV translation then check out Evangelical Bible. They are now the sole US distributer for Allan’s ESV. They offer a %5 discount on these editions as well as free shipping.

There are a couple of blog entries regarding Bible publishing and the future of the industry in the electronic age. The first is from J. Mark Bertrand and the other is from the ESV blog where the presentation given by Stephen Smith at the recent Bible Tech ’08 Conference is available.

The two are quite disparate in their scope but it is interesting to see where the future of Bible publishing may be going. Stephen Smith’s presentation as well as the recent conference dealt with the electronic aspects of the future of the Bible while Mark’s post is a manifesto as to what he thinks the Bible publishers should be taking a note of.

The advancements in electronic media have filtered down to the marketing of the Bible and Bible related products. It is not just technological advancements that are of interest but also marketing. I come from a church movement that is quite insular, I used the same Bible translation for the better part of nine years. If not for the information made available through the ‘net I never would have made the switch to the ESV, NASB and Geneva Bible. Even the use of pigment liners for writing in your Bible, these are pens I knew of while at Art Center College of Design, where my friend was a graphics major. Now my blog entry on the pigment liners has been picked up by a few bloggers as well as message boards.

What is the future of the e-Bible? or what of computer programs that will facilitate in-depth Bible studies both for the lay and the clergy. There are several computer programs available that have multiple translations, interlinears and manuscripts in Greek and Hebrew as well as many other features. You can already access the ESV through your iPhone, I am sure it won’t be long before your favorite translation will be available as an iTunes download. But then again, what do I know? I am not the most technically adept person.

Coming from a completely different perspective is Mark’s manifesto. While the future of the Bible in electronic format looks bright, the printed form may be on the decline. The printed form is plagued by cheap bindings, bad covers, and gaudy designs that appear to come from a design team that just graduated from crayons and butcher paper. Speaking of paper, most Bibles are printed on paper that was rejected by USA Today and smudges just as easily.

That is not to say that quality Bibles are not available, it’s just that they are harder to find in the milieu of modern publishing. It seems as though publishers are giving the people what they think they want rather than giving them what they really want or really need. Premium editions are not all that they should be, many suffer from poor print quality, paper quality and overall binding quality. One of the big problems with the premium editions is the marketing of these editions, few if any Bible publisher knows how to take advantage of the internet and Christian bookstores are becoming more and more corporate and less and less likely to carry a Bible edition that can cost close to $200.

There is a lack of education in Bible publishing at the most basic level, among the consumer. The worst of it is, there are few publishers that are doing anything about it. There is a disconnection between the publishers the retailers and the consumers and the real looser in all of this is the consumer.

As part of any future marketing strategy, publishers should take advantage of bloggers and start sending Bibles to the more popular blogs for review and for input on new and unreleased editions.

This Cambridge Pitt Minion NASB in back goatskin was the first premium leather Bible I bought and was not disappointed. The Pitt Minion edition was first released by Cambridge University Press in the 1930’s. It is a compact Bible measuring 7″x 4.65″ x .75″, making it suitable for travel or for carrying in a book bag or purse. The font is Lexicon that measures in at 6.75/7 pt. The name comes from The Pitt Building which houses the Press. The building was named after William Pitt, Prime Minister of Britain and Member of Parliament for Cambridge University. Minion is a traditional term for a type or size of approximately 7 pt. giving text of about 10-11 lines per inch.

The black goatskin is some of the finest leather I have had the pleasure of holding. This edition has very grainy leather that is soft to the touch. The look of it is different from the black calfskin used by Crossway, whereas the calfskin is flat or matte the goatskin has a sheen to it. It is smooth, almost slick but the best thing about it is the smell. This goatskin smells even better than that of R.L. Allan. The Bible does not have a leather lining but is quite limp nonetheless.

All of the Cambridge Bibles have a very elegant aesthetic. The layout is very clean and the details are worthy of mention. The spine has Holy Bible, New American Standard and at the very bottom Cambridge stamped in gold. The stamping is the finest of any Bible I have seen. Rather than having raised bands on the spine it has five rows of double lines that are stamped into the leather, there is also a line that goes around the entire border of the Bible. The pages are art gilt, that is they were dyed red before having the gold gilding put on. It comes with one red ribbon that extends about 3″ from the bottom.

On the inside, you have a presentation page, a concordance, map index, 16 pages of maps, red and gold head and tails bands, India paper more importantly it has a sewn binding. This is a very high quality Bible. I do not worry about handling it with kid gloves (pun intended) because it it can stand up to daily wear. This is also a red-letter edition which for may is either a must have or enough to turn them away from purchasing a Bible. The font size is small but is quite readable. A family member was recently in the hospital and this is the Bible I would take with me on visits, I never had a problem reading even under the fluorescent lights. It is a double-column setting with cross references in the middle. Although the paper is thin there is very little bleed through because of the layout. The printing is flawless and lays perfectly from page to page, thus there is hardly any open space where the underlying print can be seen.

Cambridge is really the Cadillac of Bibles. They use high quality materials and then employ fine craftsmanship to produce the finest production Bibles around. For those that are fans of the ESV, Cambridge will be releasing the Pitt Minion in the ESV later this year to be followed by a Wide Margin edition before years end. The Pitt Minion is also available in KJV, NKJV and NIV as well as in goatskin, French Morocco and bonded leather. If you are in the market for a well made compact Bible that will last years of regular use, then the Pitt Minion may be for you.

There were a few rumors as well as bloggers who were pushing for a John MacArthur Study Bible in the ESV translation. Previously only available in the NASB as well as the NKJV, this study Bible with notes by John MacArthur, whom is widely considered to be one of the greatest living teachers and preachers of God’s word will now be available in a translation more popular than either the NASB or NKJV. There is no release date of this edition, but there was an agreement reached between Crossway whom publish the ESV and Thomas Nelson Publishers whom publish the MacArthur Study Bible.

Phil Johnson dropped the 411 on the Fide-O blog. You can peep it here.

BTW, I mean no dis-respect for John MacArthur by calling him Johnny Mac.